Pro's & Con's of having 1 rooster w/14 hens?

[ponderosalane]

We are brand new at raising chickens and have 14 - 2 week old hens. 2 each of 7 breeds. All just for eggs and fun. Do we need a rooster for any reason?? Here's a pic of our girls.

 

[Illia]

No, you don't need a rooster at all.

by the way -

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

No, you don't have to have a rooster for eggs, but if you want to hatch out eggs from your flock then you'll need a rooster.

 

[gritsar]

You don't need a rooster, but there are many things a rooster is good for; especially if you free range.
I free range and my rooster is my flock protector. He warns the girls of danger, giving them time to hide. He finds goodies for them to eat and always lets them eat first. He breaks up fights between my hens. He's the protector, the provider and the peacekeeper. Also great for fertilizing eggs.

 

[Garden Gal]

I'm beginning to think that if you are not going to free-range and have a secure yard, and don't want to hatch your own eggs, don't get a roo. One of my flocks' backs' were taking such a beating from the roo (1/12 ratio) that I finally had to cull the roo. My other flock is not as bad, but the girls' backs and shoulders still take a beating inspite of chicken saddles.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Not all roosters are hard on the hens backs. Depends on the roo, the hens, and several other factors. I won't have a flock without a roo, even if I didn't free range. A rooster adds a whole 'nother dimension to a flock.

 

[Illia]

Yeah, when it comes to a rooster being "hard on a hen's back" that all depends on breed, temperament, rooster/hen ratio, and space. I have an EE who, due to curled toes, can't do his duty as cleany and quickly as most others, but since he has 19 hens to cover and 3 acres to spend time with them in, there's no feather loss troubles here.

In fact he's such a gentleman that you can always find 7-9 Wyandottes following him around wherever he goes!

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, the wear depends on the roo and his favorites. I have one big roo and he only has two girls as part of his sub flock. He's 7 now and you'd even wonder if he even mates with them because their feathers are pristine. However, I've had a sub flock of one younger year old rooster with about 18 hens, and three of his favorites were bald from his duties. All the birds share free range of about a cleared acre of land.

I like roos as they complete the picture of the yard.

 

[damselfish]

A roo can be a good or a bad thing for all the reasons mentioned above.

Since you're new, I want to point out that you may already have a roo, since chicken sexing is sometimes difficult and mistakes are made. So don't run off and buy a rooster chick, you may already have one in there.

We have a roo, we free range, and he has 13 girls. Only one has back trouble (mussed-up feathers), and the rest are fine. On the other hand, he's a brat who's constantly challenging us and trying to flog us. He's a well-marked Speckled Sussex so we're trying to wait out the hormonal stage and see if he'll settle down, else he goes to the soup pot.

Really, having a roo seems to be a Forrest Gump situation...you never know what you're going to get.

 

[calicokat]

We started out with no roo, and it was fine. That was my plan and I was happy.

We got chicks this spring and ended up with 2 roo's out of 5 chicks (No buyin' lotto tickets for me with THAT kinda luck!!) One is an EE and he seems quite docile.

But the cochin is another story. He has two of the chicks for his harem, the other chick hangs with the EE. We've built a bachelor pad for the EE and his gal because cochin already injured EE (he's been limping for close to 3 weeks now, *sigh*). If the EE is taken out of the apartment and his feet touch the ground, the cochin's radar goes off and he comes running to jump on EE's back and peck the crud out of him! Same for EE's chick. If he would just leave them alone I'd be fine. We'd like to keep him long enough to show in 4H (that's why we got the chicks.) But if he doesn't get friendly by then, we'll likely rehome him.

While I like the idea of fertile eggs, I also know I can BUY them if I have a broody - so the roo isn't required (I need to get HIM to understand that he's replaceable,